One of Goducate’s projects in China is to train people to be community development workers. Last month, 9 of these trainees spent the last 2 weeks of their training at the Goducate Training Center (GTC) in Iloilo, Philippines. The idea was to expose them to a foreign country and a foreign culture, and to give them an idea of what it is like to have to adapt to a different environment.
Since if Chinese community workers are sent abroad to serve, it is likely that one of their main tasks will be to teach Chinese as a second language, at GTC, the China team taught the other trainees some Chinese words and songs. They also attended a class teaching how to run an English corner, the principles of which can be applied to the teaching of any language.
Much of the practical training at GTC is done in the neighboring communities. There the China team saw how GTC trainees visit local families to help them help themselves. For example, they showed the families how to raise farm animals, or to increase outputs from their farms.
The China team also visited an area hard hit by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) late last year, and where the Goducate Tent School project has been restoring classrooms in schools badly hit by the typhoon. This restoration work is complemented by various educational activities in the community. The China team visited the schools to teach the children Chinese songs and various kinds of paper crafts. It was good to see how the children were a little reserved at first, but by the time the China team was leaving the kids were joyful and smiling and laughing away.
Although the China team’s introduction to the outside world was very gentle, in that the GTC is set in beautiful surroundings and the team was surrounded by kind-hearted people and pampered by good food and wonderful service, the servant’s hearts they saw in the others became a lesson in themselves.
*Our guest writer is Brenda, a China team trainer and program coordinator